Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to biocompatible materials, and more particularly to compositions for use in biomedical applications and methods of their manufacture.
Bones are living vascular organs which form part of the body's skeleton. Bones may include a variety of tissue types, including marrow, endosteum, periosteum, blood vessels, epithelium, nerves, cartilage, and mineralized osseous tissue. Bleeding from cut or disrupted bone is a common occurrence in many operative procedures. Excessive bleeding from bone during surgery may impair the surgeon's view of the operative field, may result in the need for blood transfusions, and may be associated with post-operative complications.
Cauterization techniques are used to control bleeding in soft tissue, but are ineffective for controlling bleeding in bone. Hence, bleeding in bone has traditionally been treated by using bone wax, a beeswax-based product that can be smeared across the cut surface to plug the holes in the bone, so as to reduce or stop the bleeding. More recently, synthetic bone hemostasis materials have been proposed, including Ostene (Ceremed Inc.) and HemaSorb (Orthocon Inc.).
Although bone hemostasis materials are currently available and provide real benefits to patients in need thereof, many advances may still be made to provide improved compositions for bone hemostasis. Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions to at least some of these outstanding needs.